When
snow starts to fall, there are people like LaMar Mitchell and KC Skinner who
are preparing the snow filled streets for a safe commute for drivers in Riverton.

A
typical snowplow day for Mitchell, streets department supervisor, and Skinner, streets
department assistant supervisor, starts the day before or the night before the
storm hits. They can be found up nearly every hour or two checking the weather throughout
the night before they start to plow. Mitchell and Skinner will figure out which
type of streets they must plow—the main streets or the secondary streets.

According to Mitchell, the schools are taken
care of first.

“We
come to work to see how bad it is, then call all of the drivers and that starts
our shift until everything is completely plowed,” Mitchell said. “The city is
split up into four sections. It normally takes 12-plus hours to plow; that
doesn’t include cul-de-sacs.”

However,
according to Mitchell, they do have a policy in place for so many inches
accumulated before they can plow cul-de-sacs.

Some
of the duties and responsibilities Mitchell and Skinner have are to make sure all
the equipment is ready for the snowstorms, to make sure there is enough salt
ordered and is stockpiled and lastly, to contact everyone needed to plow.

Combating
the snowfall is only half the job for Mitchell and Skinner. Asphalt road repairs
and concrete sidewalk repairs are also part of their duties.

“When it gets warm and cold, we have potholes we
have to maintain in the winter months.” Skinner said.

A
unique feature to Riverton City is a brine-making machine that was built that Mitchell
and Skinner use to make a salt solution. Skinner has made most of the equipment
associated with the brine solution. According to Mitchell the benefit of having
the brine solution is to create a barrier between the road and the new snow,
and it makes cleaning up the snowy streets much easier.

“If
we know the snow is coming, then we will usually go out and lay the brine
solution down to the main roads, so it makes everything a bit easier to clean
up.” Skinner said. “There is a lot of behind-the-scenes work that goes into
snowplowing.”

Skinner said they have designated trucks set up
to lay down the brine solution.

Most
of the problems the snowplow drivers encounter are parked cars and trailers on
the roads, people’s complaints when snow is plowed in front of their house, people
trying to pass them while driving.

A
couple things that Mitchell and Skinner would like winter drivers to know is to
allow snow truck drivers more space and to understand that, much like semi
trucks, it does take a lot longer for the plows to come to a stop, especially
in the snowy conditions they tend to drive in.

“Give
the snowplow trucks some space,” Michell said. “Many people don’t understand
the room needed with the blade. It takes us longer to stop and give them plenty
of room.”

Mitchell
and Skinner said they enjoy their jobs year-round. When plowing the snow, they
love knowing that family, friends and all other residents are getting to the
places they need to more safely.

“A lot of times we plow, we get a lot of thumbs
from people, and that helps to keep going.” Mitchell said.

“We
have an eight-people crew, and they work so diligently, and with how many miles
they have logged, they are really sincerely committed to doing a good job,” Angela
Trammell, Riverton City’s Communication Manager said. “Even a minor storm, we
are clocking almost a thousand miles.”

Riverton
residents may report a problem, like a missed street, at Rivertoncity.com.